Medicare Drug Plans Drop Tens of Thousands Over Unpaid Premiums as Low as $8

Tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries lost prescription drug coverage this spring after their zero-premium plans raised monthly costs by a few dollars and they did not pay the new amounts. Jude Pare, 77, of rural Minnesota, learned in April that Wellcare had ended his coverage after three months of unpaid premiums totaling $28.80.

He takes the blood thinner Xarelto, which costs about $1,800 for a 90-day supply without insurance. Wayne Bennett, 74, of Durham, North Carolina, lost coverage in May for missing $3.60 monthly premiums. He takes nine medications for blood pressure, glaucoma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Medicare rules allow plans to drop members after three months of non-payment. Some former Value Script enrollees in Nevada owed as little as $8.10 for the three-month period. Wellcare terminated coverage for about 140,000 Value Script members in April.

State officials in Nevada, West Virginia, and Washington reported receiving similar numbers of complaints. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it does not release plan-specific disenrollment figures tied to non-payment.

Wellcare sent an annual notice of changes in September 2025 that listed the new premiums on pages 3 and 8. The company also used phone calls, texts, mail, and email to inform members. Many beneficiaries had previously arranged automatic deductions from Social Security when premiums were zero.

When the premium rose, those deductions stopped and members had to set up new payment methods. Affected individuals cannot join another plan until the fall open-enrollment period for coverage starting January 2027, unless they qualify for an exception.